Near the Edge

He was 13. It was a fun day and the rocks were inviting. Perhaps he could get a better view if he got out on them and looked down. There was a slip. A fall. And he was looking up at heaven. He was 13. Mt. Erie hadn’t been friendly to him.

Carol and I took a trip last Monday to Mt. Erie on Fidalgo Island near Deception Pass. It is a steep drive to the top where there is a cell tower, several paved paths to viewpoints with guard rails, awesome views of Whidbey Island and the Anacortes refineries, as well as very accessible sheer cliffs. Even though it was cloudy, it was a beautiful scene.

However, I have to confess, I have a visceral reaction to heights. Even with a guardrail, I can’t get even close to the edge without trying to hang part of my body back near the mountain while my head peeks over. I’m freaked by heights.

The really spooky part of the adventure, however, was how accessible the cliffs were. In fact, Mt. Erie is famous for its great climbs on the rocky faces. The cliffs are also very accessible to novices, like the young man whose story about his death in 1992 appeared on a marker near the parking area.

I was thankful that Carol and I had come by ourselves on this trip. A week earlier we had hiked to the Ice Caves at Big Four near Verlot with our three oldest grandchildren. We had thought about the trip to Mt. Erie with them. I was so glad that we had not brought them. Not because they wouldn’t have enjoyed it, but because they would have wanted to explore nearer the edge than we were comfortable. In fact, the cliffs were so accessible, that, if we had had our grandchildren there, it would have been difficult to keep them away from the edges…even though they are great kids.

I was thankful we hadn’t exposed them to the temptation to get too close to the edge.

That reminded me of some verses from Romans 14 and 15…15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
RO 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
There are things I can do and places I can go without getting to the edge of the temptation. However, by taking others there, I expose them to the temptation. They may not be where I am, may get too close to the edge, and may fall. This is why I choose to abstain from certain beverages and entertainments. I may not fall, but if people go to the edge with me, they may fall, even though I don’t. It is out of love that I choose to not go near the edge of myself, lest others follow me and slip.